Kotak Securities has planned alternative arrangements to function from its other sites in Calcutta after one of its offices at Park Street’s Apeejay House was gutted in a fire on Monday.

The wholly-owned subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank operated out of a 2,000sq ft space in C block of Apeejay House.

The crowd outside Apeejay House on Park Street at 1.45pm on Monday. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

The office with 40-odd employees looked after the equity investments of high networth individuals and managed business from alternative channels like banks.

Employees were evacuated from the building as soon as the fire broke out, a company official said. Flames were doused but office equipment and infrastructure have been damaged, the official said. The company is still to work out the worth of the damage, though.

An officer of Calcutta police’s disaster management group said the office had been “completely gutted”. “The cubicles and the single partitioned room in the office were made of plywood, which helped sustain the fire. The false ceilings, too, were made of plywood.”

Fire officers remove overhead wires for fire engines to reach the building. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

The false ceiling was burnt, exposing the wires inside. But the corridor outside the office’s main entrance remained unscathed, suggesting the fire didn’t spread outside the office.

Kotak Securities has other branches in the city and the firm is looking to temporarily shift operations from Park Street to its other offices while trying to restore services at this office.

There’s been no loss of data since most of it is backed up. Also, there won’t be any impact on trading activities even during the festive period, the company official said.

“The fire has been doused.... All records, including that of customers, are safe.... We are working towards speedy restoration of services at the office,” Rohit Rao, chief communication officer, Kotak Mahindra Group, said.